The letter below was mailed to all Club La Pension owners on Monday, December 27th.
IMPORTANT UPDATE TO THE CURRENT STATE OF CLUB LA PENSION
Dear Club La Pension Owner:
In October of this year you received a letter about the major concerns your Board of Directors is addressing regarding the emergency conditions at Club La Pension. If you did not receive a copy of that letter or have misplaced it, it is available for viewing on line at bluegreenclublapension.blogspot.com. In that letter it was stated that the building is manifesting symptoms of structural deterioration and failure, exterior envelope failures resulting in water intrusion, sanitary pipe failures, lack of adequate outside air in the building, water heater failures, chilled water pipe insulation failures and other characteristics of aged buildings. The resulting water intrusions and lack of adequate outside air and failed pipe insulation has created deterioration of the walls and ceilings and poor indoor air quality in many areas of the resort. The Board hired a local architect/engineer to perform a complete building assessment and recommendation for repair. That assessment and determination of cost has been completed.
After months of planning, expert investigation and careful consideration, the Board of Directors has unanimously voted to proceed with the urgent and necessary repairs and restoration of Club La Pension. Delaying or ignoring action at this time is not an option and will only result in further deterioration and escalating costs, as well as continued worsening of the indoor air quality making more and more units uninhabitable. As this project is well beyond the threshold of our current and routine reserves funding scope the Board has had to make the difficult and unavoidable decision to levy a special assessment to the owners of Club La Pension in the amount $1,584.00 per unit week. The assessment will be billed January 15, 2011. We certainly realize this may present difficulties for some of you and with that in mind, we have also established two choices of a payment plan: Option 1) one payment of $1,584.00 due March 1, 2011 or Option 2) you may make three equal payments of $528.00 to be paid March 1, 2011, August 1, 2011 and December 1, 2011. The assessment is part of a master project plan that will also include unit interior design enhancements and improvements. This is a huge undertaking to protect the future of your resort and it cannot be done without your help and cooperation. We will keep you informed on the resort blog, bluegreenclublapension.blogspot.com, throughout the restoration so you can see all that is being done to bring Club La Pension back to life so you may continue to have many, many years of future vacation memories.
Additionally, due to the extensive repairs required to restore the resort and the unavoidable interruptions in water and electrical utility service, fire service, elevator service and the air quality issues, Club La Pension will be rendered uninhabitable. Therefore, your Board of Directors has also been forced to make the difficult decision to shut down the Resort completely on March 12, 2011 with a tentative reopening date of mid February 2012 or sooner if at all possible (alternative vacation use options are discussed later in this letter). When the resort reopens, Club La Pension will not only be safe, with sound structural integrity, it will have been restored to the timeshare jewel in all of New Orleans!
Important answers to your questions:
1. When will the resort be closed? Club La Pension will close for 11 months beginning Saturday, March 12, 2011 and will reopen by mid February, 2012. The Board must close the resort due to life safety issues during the building restoration. This will also save considerable time and money in the cost of the overall project.
2. If the repairs are an emergency, why are you waiting so long to close the resort? It takes a great deal of time to mobilize a project of this magnitude. When the resort closes, work will begin immediately. Until then, those units that can be used will be open.
3. How will I know if I can use my unit? If your week falls within the closure period, you will not be able to use your week at Club La Pension. If you have any questions about whether your week is available, please contact the resort for assistance.
4. Then what happens to my vacation week while the resort is closed? All units will be unusable during the time the resort is closed just as units may be unusable for other emergencies such as hurricanes, floods or fires or any other condition that would make the resort unsafe for occupancy. The Board is very sensitive to each and every owner who is affected by the closing. There are no easy or quick resolutions but the Board has worked very hard and every effort has been made to find some alternative vacation ideas and opportunities for you.
Option 1 – RCI has agreed to still allow those of you who are members of RCI to exchange your unit/week as you normally would and at the current exchange rate. If you choose this option please call directly into RCI at 800-338-7777 to book your exchange. If you are a float owner, you do not need to reserve a week first but will use your deeded week for exchange purposes. If you are not currently a member RCI but would like to take advantage of all of their vacation destinations and become a member, please call the same number and they will be ready to assist you.
Option 2 – Bluegreen is offering an exchange into another Bluegreen resort at a weekly rate of $175. This offer is available for any current Club La Pension owner. Certain restrictions do apply. Please see the Bluegreen flyer enclosed with this mailing for details or call 888-541-8715 for more information and be sure to ask for the LPEN rate code.
5. What if I can’t pay the assessment as outlined above? The Board has established the assessment as allowed per the condominium documents and it is due payable by March 1, 2011. You may choose the payment plan option of three equal payments as previously described. If you have further questions regarding a payment plan, please call 877-688-9889.
6. Since I can’t use my week, do I still have to pay my maintenance fees? As in any emergency closing, all owners are still responsible to pay their maintenance fees. There will still be costs involved in taking care of the resort that must be paid whether the resort is open or closed – items such as insurance, property taxes, electricity, water, etc. However, the money that is saved from closing the resort will be used to offset some of the expense of the assessment. Over $800,000 in 2011 maintenance fees will go directly to the special assessment fund. If the maintenance fees were lowered because of the closing, the assessment would just be $800,000 more.
7. How will I be kept updated and know what is going on? The resort blog will be the primary means of communication to the owners throughout preconstruction and restoration. If you have not already visited our blog, please do so and become a “Follower”: bluegreenclublapension.blogspot.com. The blog will be updated often and will include progress reports, responses to frequently asked questions, and before and after pictures of damage and repair. If you have any specific questions regarding the blog, please contact the resort directly for assistance.
Decisions like these are the most difficult for any owners association Board. The Board of Directors is entrusted with the fiduciary responsibility to protect, enhance and preserve the property of the La Pension Owners Association. Unfortunately, there are no alternatives to making these repairs. The buildings that make up the resort have serious issues that must be corrected to keep it open and safe for you and your family and friends. You won’t be disappointed when Club La Pension reopens. You will have a restored, historic, and beautiful resort – inside and out that will offer many, many years of great vacations and instantly improve your trading power with your exchange company. More information will be forthcoming. Please follow the Club La Pension blog for continual updates. Thank you in advance for your continued support of your resort and your patience during this time.
Respectfully,
La Pension Owners’ Association Board of Directors
